Zac Sunderland, 17, is escorted to the podium after his record-setting arrival Thursday. (Clear 365 Photo/ Christopher Handel) Friends and family of teen sailor Zac Sunderland gathered with hundreds of spectators Thursday morning to wait for his sailboat to arrive at the Fisherman's Village in Marina Del Rey, Calif., marking the end of his record-setting solo trip around the world. Dozens of other sailboats, as well as numerous fire and police boats, escorted Sunderland into his slip. When he came in at about 10:30 a.m., Sunderland, 17, became the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the world alone in a sailboat. Sunderland's globetrotting adventure, which he chronicled online, started 13 months ago in a 36-foot sailboat that he named Intrepid. The teen dreamed up the idea to sail around the world when he was 15, and saved money from summer jobs to purchase the Intrepid for $6,000. He left Marina Del Rey, Calif., on June 14, 2008, and had originally planned to return in April. However, as he raced around the world, he encountered numerous setbacks that lead to significant delays. In late April, off the coast of South America, the radar system that had guided him around the world and protected him from oncoming ocean liners stopped working. Without radar, he had to maintain constant vigilance for other ships, and was forced to wake up every 20 minutes for days to check the horizon. Then, as he deliriously sailed to safe harbor, he was struck by an enormous 30-foot rogue wave. Clinging to the mast, Zac was unharmed, but the cabin flooded with water that shorted the boat's electrical system, giving him no way to charge his satellite phone. Without radar or any way to contact his parents, Zac sailed desperately to safety. Sunderland's parents, who have blogged about the terrors of sending their son to sea alone, faced near constant worries about Zac's safety, but none greater than last October, when Zac encountered pirates off the coast of Indonesia. Zac's father, Laurence, told his son to check that his .357 was loaded and to shoot to kill at the first sign of aggression. His mother, Marianne, frantically informed the Australian and Indonesian authorities. After several hours, the other craft veered off Zac's course, and his family let out a desperate sigh of relief. Laurence Sunderland says the encounter was one of four times in the last 13 months when he literally dropped to his knees in prayer. The Sunderlands have been open about the role their faith played in Zac's journey. His father said he never would have allowed Zac to sail around the world if he ''thought that he would be alone,'' and then he thanked Jesus Christ. The homecoming celebration included a reading of Psalm 107, the sailor's psalm, by the family's minister. Zac also pointed out that his journey strengthened his faith, noting that he saw his prayers answered numerous times. Though the Sunderlands say they have no regrets, the last 13 months have been emotionally and financially difficult for the family. They said that Zac's adventure has cost them about $140,000, some of which they hope to recoup through the sales of a planned documentary about the trip. Zac brought seven camcorders with him on his journey.
Sunderland, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., stands in the main salon of his 36-foot yacht on Monday, July 13, 2009, in San Diego. Sunderland became the youngest person to sail around the world alone when he arrived Thursday in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Despite these obstacles, at 17 years 228 days old, Sunderland is still the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone, and the first person under 18 to complete that journey. It could be a short-lived record. Another teen, Mike Perham, is a few months younger than Sunderland and likely will arrive in England at the end of July to complete his solo around-the-world trip.
Unlike Sunderland, who scrapped together his boat with the help of his father, a shipwright, Perham is sailing around the world in a much faster 50-foot racing yacht. Pelham's boat is named the Totalmoney.com after its principal sponsor. Perham likely will complete his trip in 8 and a half months, although he still has to cross the Atlantic, where he could face delays. Perham had originally intended to complete the trip without stopping, but he was forced to stop for numerous repairs.
Perham and Sunderland had an unplanned encounter in Cape Town, South Africa, where both boys got to meet and examine each other’s boats. Sunderland noted that he got along well with Perham saying, "We had a lot in common, because at
the time we were both 16, and we're both sailors. We hung out for a few days.” When Zac stepped off the Intrepid and into the waiting arms of his family, there were no fist pumps or victory screams. Instead, he quietly wore a contented smile on his face and basked in the screams of ''Way to go, Zac!'' that erupted from the crowd. It was almost as if Zac had not yet realized what he had accomplished, and he carried himself with a telling shyness that reminded his fans that he had spent most of the last 13 months by himself. Sunderland's publicist spoke first upon his arrival, noting that
becoming the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation under the
age of 18 is ''a record that can never be broken,'' regardless of the
outcome of Perham's voyage. He was followed by a parade of sponsors and public officials, plugging Zac's accomplishments alongside their own products. Finally, as it came time for Zac to speak, he seemed to realize that he was finally done, and his smile grew into a toothy grin. Zac spoke briefly, and expressed a strong sense of modesty and gratitude toward his family and sponsors. As he took questions from the media, he downplayed his own accomplishments with the nonchalance of a 17 year old, too cool or too humble to celebrate ostentatiously. When asked what he planned to do next, Zac noted that he still had three classes to take in order to graduate from high school, and that he did not plan on going to college or getting a job right away. Instead, he said he hoped to complete another adventure, like ''sailing to the Arctic Circle.'' "People between the ages of 15 and
18, they get put into a box. They’ll
just go to school and play football and think that’s all they can do, but
there's so much more," he said, citing the slogan that served as a personal mantra: "Do hard things." -- Christopher Handel, Clear 365 Sports
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